It’s not commonly known that the RU 486 abortion drug process can be reversed if a mother changes her mind about the abortion in time.

However, a protocol has already been developed for helping women who changed their minds about going through with a multi-day second-trimester abortion after it’s been started. The process, which involves reversing a second trimester abortions by removing the laminaria, can be used as long as the abortion practitioner has not yet done the lethal injection that destroys the life of the unborn baby.

The protocol for these sorts of abortion drug reversals was created back in 2007. The following is a story about the creator of the process and how he helped a young woman named Ashley give birth after she changed her mind about abortion:

Dr. Matthew Harrison had a visit from a 20-year old woman named Ashley. She was seven weeks pregnant, but she feared for the life of her baby – not because there was anything wrong with the pregnancy, but because, two days earlier, she had taken RU-486 at an abortion mill. Now, she had changed her mind about having the abortion and wanted to see if the baby could be saved!

The RU-486 process requires taking the drug itself (called mifiprex) at the abortion mill, and then taking a second drug (called cytotec or misoprostol) three days later on one’s own. Ashley had taken the mifiprex, but had not yet taken the cytotec. Now in a small percentage of cases, the RU-486 will not kill the baby by itself. It’s normal function, however, is to starve the unborn child by interfering with the working of progesterone. The RU-486 goes to the cells that receive the progesterone and block them, so that the real progesterone cannot do its work. This would be analogous to putting a counterfeit key into a keyhole so that it fits but cannot turn the lock to open the door. Meanwhile, the real key cannot go in. The cytotec, then, will induce contractions so that a dead baby is delivered.

Dr. Harrison had not faced such a situation before. Ashley told him that her boyfriend had pushed for the abortion. But after she took the RU-486, Ashley thought to herself, “O My God, what have I done?” She told her mother what had happened, and her mom called a local pregnancy center. The center then referred her to Dr. Harrison.

The doctor excused himself, went into another room, and prayed. He consulted a number of medical resources, and decided to give Ashley a progesterone treatment. With an extra dose of progesterone, he thought, maybe the effects of the counterfeit progesterone could be overcome. It was worth a try. This was not, however, without its risks, about which he clearly informed Ashley. He told her, first of all, that this effort might not work, and her baby might die anyway. He also told her that this effort might prolong the death process, or might bring additional complications to her or her child, or might even kill her. Ashley was courageous, and signed the consent form saying, “Whatever happens is in God’s hands – I just pray that my baby will be OK.”

She took the shot, and she began bleeding that weekend. But then the bleeding stopped, and with continued progesterone treatment by Dr. Harrison, the pregnancy continued normally. Dr. Daniel L. Holland, who is Dr. Harrison’s partner, delivered a healthy baby girl named Kaylie – a survivor of an attempted RU-486 abortion!

Dr. Mary Davenport, President of the American Association of Pro-Life Obstetricians and Gynecologists (AAPLOG), co-authored the new paper, which appears in The Annals of Pharmacotherapy.

“We have a series of 6 women who attempted reversal of RU-486 (mifepristone) abortions, and 4/6 successfully went on to have term babies. There were no complications,” she tells LifeNews. “For physicians interested in providing RU-486 reversal, and patients who need this service Dr George Delgado has established a web site and a hot line.”

“Unlike surgical abortions which are immediately lethal, RU-486 (mifepristone) works over a period of 36-72 hours,” he notes. “The drug binds to progesterone receptors in the uterine lining, blocking progesterone from binding. That’s key, as progesterone is the hormone that keeps the uterine lining (endometrium) intact.”

“If progesterone is blocked by RU-486, then the endometrium begins to break down, losing its ability to supply the baby’s placenta with oxygen and food. Over a period of a couple of days, the baby is suffocated as the placenta detaches. At that point the drug misoprostol is ingested, inducing uterine contractions to expel the baby,” he added. “The good news is that women can receive shots of progesterone if the baby is still alive. These shots will overwhelm the RU-486 and keep the endometrium intact. Dr. Davenport has sent along a few links that are helpful.”

A former abortion practitioner confirms the process can be reversed.

“In a second or third trimester abortion, the woman goes to the abortionist to have laminaria (seaweed sticks) inserted to begin dilating her cervix prior to the abortion itself. If she changes her mind, abortion clinics often say they can’t stop the procedure now. But that’s a lie,” according to the group Pro-Life Action League. “Former abortionist Dr. Anthony Levatino (M.D., Esq.) explains that this is a simple procedure and that the pregnancy can still be safely carried to term.”